Nightbird's Sacrifice
by TehMarishal
Summary: Prowl is going to die, one way or another. But it is up to Nightbird and her choices to determine whether it will be a meaningless death or a heroic death. And what will she have to give up in order to save thousands of lives? Please R
1. Chapter 1

Nightbird twitched on her berth, completely unaware of her servos clenching and unclenching. She was in the middle of a recharge and she was having that same dream again.

_She could see Prowl and Jazz atop of a strange tower she'd never seen before. It appeared to be located on a planet she'd never been to._

_There was a small, plump figure that looked like some kind of organic. It was running, running away from an oncoming doom. Yet Prowl and Jazz stayed behind, and sat down right where they were._

_Nightbird wanted to scream at them to run, to get the hell out of there, because she knew what was going to happen. They were in danger. She had seen what would happen in the dream a dozen times already, and she didn't want to see it again._

_Yet there was nothing she could do. She could never do anything when she was there, because it was like she was an outsider observer—able to see, but unable to speak or interact._

_Then she saw the events play out once again before her. Jazz and Prowl sat on the roof, using their cyber ninja powers to call upon the power of the Allspark, (at least that's what she deduced that glowing orb in the air above them was) and she heard them exchange words._

_Jazz said, "We're gonna need more spark to shield the city from that blast!"_

_The danger was coming, and it was getting closer…_

"_Can't… pull in any more fragments," Prowl said, just as he'd said every other time Nightbird had had this dream._

_But then he glanced upward, and his frowned deepened._

_He hesitated. He was hesitating…_

_A short time later, the bomb went off, and the entire city was engulfed in the blast—including the tower, and including Prowl and Jazz._

Nightbird gasped and sat straight up on her berth, her vocalizer making panting noises. She only did that when she was particularly startled or unnerved by something.

She had already lost count of how many times she'd had that dream. All the times she'd had it, things seemed to blend together to the point where it all seemed like the same dream.

But she also felt that a recurring dream was no mere coincidence. And since nothing like the things she saw in the dream had actually happened—at least, not from anything she'd seen personally—she felt it was possible that the dream meant something. Perhaps she was having a vision of some sort.

She decided she would speak to Master Yoketron about it.

0o0o0o0o0

Prowl was alone in his room, meditating. Later today he was supposed to go to the training room for another round of training exercises. From what he understood, Yoketron was quite pleased with the progress he'd made in learning all of the fighting stances, and now wanted to test his skills and abilities to their fullest.

Yet even as he meditated, Prowl found his thoughts drifting toward a specific femme. He hadn't been able to spend much time around her, especially lately due to all his training, but he found himself growing fond of her presence. When she wasn't around, it was as though he felt… lonely.

Prowl was surprised as the thought. He'd never felt that way about anyone, especially a femme. The very first bot he'd ever felt close to was Yoketron, and he viewed his Master as a fatherly figure in his life. But Nightbird… he had to admit that there was something special about her, and he felt drawn toward her in a way he couldn't explain.

He began to run a diagnostic of his central processor. It was… illogical to allow oneself to dwell so much on a single femme, especially in the heart of his training…

Even as the self-diagnostic progressed, a thought came to him. Could it be that he was… developing feelings for the femme? He had to admit that he cared for her, although in his own way he cared for all of his ninja brethren. They all looked out for each other in their own way, after all.

The diagnostic completed itself, finding nothing wrong. So he pushed all thoughts of Nightbird, along with his feelings for her, aside and left his room. If he didn't depart now, he would be late for the training session.

0o0o0o0o0

Nightbird left the training room just moments before Prowl arrived there, although neither of them saw each other. Nightbird simply walked down the hallway toward her own quarters, deep in thought.

She'd spoken with Yoketron about her dreams. Normally she wouldn't even think of bringing them to anyone's attention, since dreams were usually nothing more than the sub-processor working through and clearing out clutter, or one's imagination going wild while one slept, or a combination of both. But again, the way this specific dream kept recurring was very unusual.

Yoketron hadn't said much helpful, however. Although sometimes the Master seemed to have a way of knowing more than he was willing to tell. About all he would say was that the dream was very interesting, and that she should keep her optics as well as her spark open. He also said that the Allspark might indeed be trying to tell her something, but only she would know what it was when the time was right, and that he hoped she would make the correct decision.

But what was that supposed to mean? What sort of decision was she supposed to make? As far as she could tell, the events in the dream had nothing to do with her, especially since she wasn't even there at the tower as far as she could tell. In many ways it was like watching something from a viewscreen, where you can only stand there and watch while events occurred on another planet. She did not see herself anywhere in the dream, nor did she seem to be present at all. If she was, surely she would be able to do something.

There had to be _some_ reason why she was being given this dream, though. If only she could figure out what it _was…_

She decided to go back to her quarters to meditate. She had some free time before she was supposed to appear before Yoketron again, and maybe the answer would come to her if she tried to clear her mind.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Prowl's training session had gone very, very well. During the sparring match with his Master, he'd managed to make a slick move of his fist where, if that had been a real fight, he would have been able to punch Yoketron in the faceplate. However since it wasn't a real fight, Prowl's fist had stopped short just a few inches.

Yoketron had been quite pleased with his student's progress, and rewarded him by declaring him a cyber ninja, handing him the first weapons that Prowl had been allowed to have since the training began. Prowl had bowed his head and thanked Yoketron, gratefully taking the pair of golden, star-shaped objects in the tray that his Master handed him.

However, when it came to lesson of processor over matter, Prowl failed. He'd been ordered to close the door guarding the protoforms that the cyber ninjas had a duty to protect. He'd almost gotten it all the way closed, but it stopped just short.

"I'm sorry, Master," Prowl said as he lowered his hands.

"You have the spark within you, Prowl," Yoketron encouraged. "You simply have to locate it. I am sending you on an optics quest. Find your spark, Prowl, and return the cyber ninja I know you to be."

Prowl bowed his head. "Where am I going, Master?" he asked after a brief silence.

"You will see. But first, I must speak with Nightbird," Yoketron replied.

0o0o0o0o

Nightbird had sat perfectly motionless on the floor within her quarters for a couple of hours, and managed to still her thoughts. However, she was only able to enjoy the blissfulness of a perfectly serene and still processor for about half an hour, before the dream came to her again.

And this was the first time it came to her while she was _awake._

_Prowl landed atop the roof of the tower with Jazz and asked the plump little organic if the tower had a bomb shelter. The organic inquired why, then saw the coming danger and took that as an answer to his query, then ran off._

_Nightbird felt like screaming as Prowl and Jazz sat down on the roof, calling upon the power of the Allspark. She wanted to run forward and shove them away, or to shout at them to get away from there, because they were going to be dead in minutes._

_Jazz and Prowl exhausted themselves, gazing up at the blue orb above their heads. "We're gonna need more spark to shield the city from that blast!" Jazz said._

Never mind that!_ Nightbird desperately wanted to scream, but she couldn't make a sound. _Never mind that—just get away! Quickly!_ She tried her hardest to speak, but it was as though she was frozen and her vocalizer wasn't working._

"_Can't… pull in… any more fragments," Prowl said, sounding exhausted. Judging by the strain in his voice, he'd used up more of his processor energy than Jazz had in what they were doing._

_Then, just like every other time, Prowl frowned deeply and gazed up toward the Allspark orb…_

_He hesitated._

_He _hesitated…

_Nightbird wanted to scream at him. Why was he HESITATING?! He was obviously considering some option to save the city, but he seemed to be looking at something which only he could see…_

_Then the bomb went off, engulfing the entire city with it—including the tower, Jazz, and Prowl himself. At least tens of thousands of lives were lost…_

Nightbird gasped, her optics flickering on and off as her vocalizer emulated panting noises. It took her a few moments to calm herself down.

Just as she managed to sooth her nerves, there was a knock on the door and she stood straight up as none other than Master Yoketron himself entered her room.

"Master," she acknowledged. "Oh I'm sorry if I'm late, I was… meditating."

Yoketron looked at her. "Are you alright?" he asked her, concerned.

"Yes, I am," she answered a bit too quickly. She turned away as he proceeded to gaze at her with those inquisitive, knowing optics of his. Somehow he had a way of making you want to spill whatever you were hiding, even without saying a word.

"I had another dream," she finally said, without looking at him. "Same as before."

Yoketron nodded, as though he knew that was what she was going to say. "I am sending you with Prowl on an optic's quest," he told her. "I want you to help him find his spark, and maybe in turn, he can help you find the true meaning of your vision, and help you understand what you need to do."

Now Nightbird looked at him. She trusted his judgment, especially since he'd never lead her astray before and he'd taught her well. But at the same time she wasn't sure about this. Was it really such a good idea to work closely with someone that the dream was about?

"You will both leave within the hour," Yoketron told her simply, and left the room.

Nightbird watched him go, even staring at the door for a few moments after it closed behind her Master. Then she walked over to berth and sank down onto the edge of it.

She just wish she knew what she was supposed to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Prowl and Nightbird had traveled mostly in silence toward their destination point. Since Nightbird had no vehicle mode, Prowl permitted her to ride upon his back. It slowed him down a little, but it was better than walking all the way—which would have slowed the journey down further.

Within a few hours they arrived at their destination, which was a place known simply as the Crystal Caverns. It used to be a place where raw, natural energon crystals were mined, but mining expeditions were no longer permitted there due to the fact that the energon which remained there now was too unstable to mine safely.

But legend told that the Allspark itself may have come from that cave somehow or other—although no one knew whether that legend was fact or myth. Nevertheless, every ninja went on their first optics quests in that cave—and sometimes they returned if needed some form of clarity, such as trying to decipher a recurring dream or vision. It was said that this place was one of the few places where one could commune with the Allspark more easily.

Once they reached the mouth of the cave, Nightbird stepped off of Prowl's back and then he transformed into his bipedal mode.

"So this is it," Prowl murmured, and stepped forward into the cave's entrance. Nightbird gave a slight nod of acknowledgement, following him silently.

The interior of the cave was pitch black; the only light sources that illuminated the cave where the soft glow of their optics, and the light from their glowing Autobot emblems.

"So," Nightbird said softly, yet even her quiet tone sounded vocal as her words echoed off the walls, "any ideas on what we're supposed to do here?"

"You've been here before," Prowl remarked, raising an optical ridge and turning to look at her. "I would think you would know better than me." He resumed glancing around the cavern.

"Yes indeed," Nightbird replied, "I have been here before, but my purpose here is different this time."

"You never did mention why you are here," Prowl commented.

"No I did not."

Prowl said nothing. Something about her tone suggested that she wasn't going to talk about it.

The two of them continued on in silence for some time, descending deeper and deeper into the cave. Finally they came to an area that seemed to be a set of catacombs; areas that branched off into different chambers.

"This must be where the miners used to dig," Prowl commented, mostly to himself.

"Indeed," Nightbird said.

"So, what did you do to find your spark, when you were first here?" Prowl asked, turning and looking at Nightbird fully.

"Sit down, keep your body and your thoughts completely still," Nightbird instructed. "Then reach out and feel the Allspark's presence, then find it within yourself." She frowned ever so slightly behind her faceplate. "Although you must discover for yourself how to do that."

Prowl nodded slightly, then turned away from her and sat down on the ground, folding his legs beneath himself.

Nightbird walked on past him. Normally her footsteps made little or no noise, but she purposely allowed her heels to click against the rocky ground in order to alert him to her movements. She wanted him to know that she was moving into a different chamber to meditate in private, but did not wish to disturb him with spoken words.

Once she had moved into another chamber she sat down on the ground, folding her legs beneath herself and concentrating. Maybe now she could begin to try and figure out what that vision was about.

She made her thoughts still, then attempted to feel for the presence of the Allspark. Then, just as she began to feel its presence within the core of her own spark, she lost all sense in her body and the vision played itself out in her processor once again:

_The plump little organic with black hair ran off, and Jazz and Prowl sat down on the rooftop, using processor over matter to summon the power of the Allspark._

_They pulled as much of it in as they could, then Jazz said they would need more to shield the city from the blast. The impending doom was still coming, and both of them knew it._

"_Can't… pull in… any more fragments," Prowl said, his voice strained. Then he looked up toward the blue/white orb above their heads, and he hesitated._

_He was hesitating… and he was looking at something. What was he looking at? What was so important to him that he was hesitating?!_

_Then the bomb went off taking the city, the tower, and the two ninjas with it._

Nightbird fell forward, collapsing on the ground. She wrapped her arms around her head and buried her face into them, trying to block the images out of her mind.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Prowl was having trouble meditating. In fact, if he didn't know any better he would have almost sworn the Allspark was either teasing him or was choosing to ignore him for some reason. It seemed like every time he came close to trying to commune with it, he became distracted by a wandering thought or the Allspark seemed to withdraw from his mental reach.

He finally had to admit, in the privacy of his own processor, that one of the thoughts that kept distracting him was Nightbird's presence within the cave. Somehow, just her being there was enough to distract him. He found himself wanting to be near her, or to at least see her.

Finding himself unable to concentrate on meditation anymore, he rose and headed off in the direction he'd seen Nightbird go.

When he found her, he was both surprised and concerned when he saw her curled up on the ground, her face buried in her arms. He rushed to her side and touched her shoulders, startling her a little as he did so.

"Nightbird, what is it?" he asked her, gently pulling her up into a seated position.

"I…" Nightbird stammered slightly. "It was just… a dream," she murmured.

"Do you mean a vision?" Prowl asked, his curiosity and concern piqued.

She nodded.

"What was it about?"

"I… can't say."

"Why not?" Prowl asked gently. He didn't want to pressure her, but he was truly curious and concerned.

"It's private," Nightbird said somewhat curtly. Actually it wasn't all that private, otherwise she probably wouldn't have spoken to Yoketron about it. It was simply that she didn't want to speak to Prowl about it… considering it was about him.

Prowl said nothing, though apparently he decided to respect the fact that she didn't want to talk about it. Neither of them said anything for several minutes, although he finally broke the silence by saying, "Perhaps we should simply try and meditate in here." In truth he wanted to be near her, and possibly help in any way he could if she was troubled by another vision.

Nightbird looked at him, and in spite of herself she smiled behind her faceplate. Maybe having him nearby would help, especially since seeing him alive and in the same room would help keep those terrible images of him dying out of her processor.

"I would like that," she said.

Prowl smiled slightly, and then the two of them sat down on the floor, only a few feet away from each other.

One thing she did not anticipate, however, was that she found herself… distracted while he was in the same chamber as her. She found herself glancing in his direction instead of focusing on her own meditations.

What's more was that it seemed like he was having the same problem. Instead of meditating, his visor seemed to be glancing in her direction.

She felt her spark pulsing beneath her torso plating, and she called upon her processor disciplines to try and settle her mind and spark. What was happening here? She had always been fond of him in her own way, and had always found him attractive, but she never imagined….

Somehow or other, they had moved so that only a few inches separated them. Nightbird blinked, unsure which of them had moved. Maybe they both had. Since they were both good at sneaking, it was impossible to tell.

"Nightbird…" Prowl said, then hesitated.

"Prowl…" Nightbird said, her voice barely above a whisper. Then, before she even realized it, her faceplate moved away from her face, revealing her features to Prowl for the very first time.

Prowl gazed at her, then slowly reached out and touched her chin with his hand. Then in a slow, cautious movement, he began to lean in toward her.

Nightbird leaned forward as well, and allowed Prowl to tip her chin and lock lips with her. Then right there, in the privacy of the cave, they shared their first kiss.

And over the next several hours, they simply enjoyed each other's company, forgetting their original purpose for being there. And they talked, getting to know each other better than they ever thought they could.


	3. Chapter 3

Nightbird rested with her head against Prowl's chassis, feeling the warmth of his spark against her face. She snuggled tighter against him, draping an arm over his chassis in the process.

Prowl was deep in recharge, although she knew that he was aware, deep within his processor, that she was there. And she felt that neither of them could possibly be happier.

And yet, why did she feel like she was missing something? Everything about the way she felt right now made her believe she was right where she needed to be. Prowl was no longer lonely, and neither was she. They had both silently acknowledged that no matter what else happened, they would always have each other.

So why did this feel… wrong somehow?

Nightbird tried to push the nagging feeling away. Surely that feeling was wrong, there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with this. Not when it felt so right, as though she and Prowl were made for each other.

But then, even as she dimmed her optics to slip into recharge, she could feel the dream coming back once again:

_Prowl and Jazz, on the roof of that tower. The little plump organic running off, and the two ninja bots sitting down and calling upon the power of the Allspark._

_Nightbird tried to look away, but she couldn't. She didn't want to see this scene play out before her again, but she had no choice. She couldn't look away; the image was fresh in her mind, and it was like her optics were glued to the scene._

"_We're gonna need more spark to shield the city from that blast," Jazz said, the events playing themselves out in her dream yet again, exactly as before._

_Prowl gritted his dental plating; he looked exhausted. And he sounded strained as he said, "Can't… pull in… any more fragments."_

_Then he looked up, toward the white/blue orb hanging above their heads._

_He hesitated. Why was he hesitating?!_

_But then Nightbird noticed something. He seemed to be looking _past_ the white/blue orb, and then he seemed to glance off in a different direction entirely…_

_No, Nightbird quickly realized, he was still looking in the same direction. She had simply changed perspective._

_He was looking at HER._

_Then the bomb went off, taking the entire city of Detroit, along with the tower and the two ninja bots with it, as well as tens of thousands of other lives._

Nightbird sat up with a start, gasping. She glanced down at Prowl, who was still deep in recharge, apparently not having been disturbed by her at all.

Being careful as not to disturb him, she pulled away from him and stood him, moving out of the chamber. Her feet made no noise as she did so.

Once she felt she had gone a safe distance away, she sat down on the ground with her back to the cave wall. She then replayed the vision in her mind.

The fact of the matter was… she and Prowl had grown so close and such a short amount of time, she wouldn't be surprised if he asked her to spark-bond with him.

And perhaps it was possible that… in the future, if he would somehow end up in a position where he could save a city, he might hesitate if he was bonded to her. After all, once a femme and a mech were bonded, they were connected for life and felt everything that the other felt. And if one died, sometimes the surviving mate would be dragged along in death as well, or at least go into a very deep depression.

Knowing Prowl… he wouldn't want to do that to her. So he might possibly… hesitate, maybe even try and dim the link or cut her off somehow, so she wouldn't feel his death…

She rose, knowing full well what she had to do. She had to… leave.

0o0o0o0o0

Prowl awoke, only to find that Nightbird was not there. In fact, she wasn't anywhere to be seen. Concerned, he leapt to his feel and began to look for her, knowing she couldn't have gone far, especially since she didn't have a vehicle mode.

He headed toward the entrance first, thinking that maybe she just went outside to get a change of scenery. He spotted her just as she was heading out, and he rushed to catch up with her.

He wasn't going to say anything at first, simply because he didn't think it was necessary. But then he saw the look in her optics as he caught up with her.

"Nightbird… what's wrong?" Prowl asked, concerned. Had something happened?

"I have to go," Nightbird told him with a forced coolness. "My time here is done."

"What?" Prowl blinked.

"My reason for coming here has been fulfilled," Nightbird said. "Now I know that I have to go." She sighed, glancing down toward the ground. "Prowl… I'm sorry. I wish things could have been different, but this won't work." She brought her optics up to meet his visor. Then, lowering her faceplate, she leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

Prowl brought his arms up, attempting to pull her in for an embrace, but she quickly broke the kiss and backed away, moving out of reach. "I'm sorry," she said again, turning away. "Don't follow me, it'll only make this harder than it has to be. Go back into the cave, Prowl."

She began to walk away, and Prowl could only watch in shock, even as hurt began to creep into his spark. After she had moved several meters away, she briefly turned back to glance at him over her shoulder. "Goodbye, Prowl," she called out softly, then turned and ran.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Nightbird had managed to hitch a ride back to the dojo, and she went back to her quarters without a word, not wanting to see or talk to anyone. She just wanted to be alone.

She knew she had done the right thing, but… it hurt.

She didn't feel like meditating so she simply lay on her berth and allowed her optics to wink out, wanting to simply slip into a stasis nap and hopefully—for the time being at least—forget about everything that had happened.

Then, as she slipped into recharge, something happened. It was almost as though the Allspark itself wanted her to know she'd done the right thing, even if it hurt right now. She had another dream, only this one would turn out differently:

_Jazz and Prowl, on the roof, calling upon the power of the Allspark. They pulled in as much of it as they possibly could, then looked strained and exhausted afterwards—especially Prowl._

"_We're gonna need more spark if we going to shield the city from that blast," Jazz said._

"_Can't… pull in… any more fragments," Prowl said. "Only… one way."_

_This time he acted without hesitation. His body began to glow and he rose up off the ground so that he was level with the blue/white orb…_

_Jazz leaped to his feet, realizing what Prowl was about to do. "Prowl, NO! We'll find another way!" Jazz shouted._

_Prowl glanced in his direction, giving his comrade a peaceful smile, although his optics were filled with a quiet sadness. Then there was a bright flash of light, and Prowl's spark left his body to merge with the Allspark energy._

_Prowl was dead… but tens of thousands of others would live because of it._

_Because he did not hesitate. _

_Because Nightbird had left and was no longer a part of his life._

Nightbird's optics flickered back on, and she found herself staring silently at the ceiling.

She sighed as she shifted her position, folding her arms underneath her head. At least she had apparently saved a lot of lives by what she'd done today.

But that smile… that smile was going to haunt her for the rest of her days.

She swore it.

**The End.**


End file.
